“Dragon Age’s Future in Flux as Director Departs Amid Studio Speculations”
The past few days have been rather unusual for BioWare enthusiasts, as the director of Dragon Age: The Veilguard has announced her departure from BioWare, coupled with unverified speculation suggesting that the developer’s Edmonton studio might be shutting down. However, following some clarification from the Dragon Age director regarding her exit, ambiguous statements from the project lead of Mass Effect 5 seemingly imply that fans of the sci-fi RPG franchise need not be alarmed about the future of the upcoming title.
Corinne Busche had dedicated over 18 years at EA, but shortly after the release of the Dragon Age title she helmed, she is set to embark on a new opportunity “in the CRPG sector.” In a statement sent to Eurogamer, she confirmed that her “exit was voluntary, as I have been offered a chance I couldn’t refuse,” and recognized that she ultimately “achieved what I aimed to accomplish at BioWare, which was to come in and help stabilize things.” Prior to this, Eurogamer had already reported that BioWare was not affected by any major changes despite circulating rumors to the contrary – journalist Jeff Grubb explicitly stated that “I don’t believe EA is shutting down BioWare Edmonton” and “was informed that there is nothing substantial regarding that part of the speculation.”
Ultimately, you should definitely take the rumor with caution, but if it has left you concerned about the status of the next Mass Effect title, project director Michael Gamble has been offering some subtle reassurance that everything is progressing well with the upcoming sci-fi RPG. After casually mentioning “I love Mass Effect” on Twitter, a fan inquired whether that meant he had “hopefully had a good week at work?” To this, Gamble responded: “Every week is a good week at work for me. [Mass Effect 5 producer] Brenon Holmes knows.”
While Gamble did not directly address Busche’s departure from BioWare or the rumors concerning the Edmonton studio, he seems to convey a clear message that work on the next game is still proceeding as planned. Regardless of the recent speculation, such affirmations are always comforting to hear, especially since substantial information about the game has been sparse in the years since it was first revealed. We still do not even know if it is officially titled Mass Effect 5 yet. Here’s hoping we receive some concrete updates soon.
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I am one of GamesRadar+’s news writers, collaborating with the rest of the news team to deliver exciting gaming stories that we love. After spending countless hours filling The University of Sheffield’s student newspaper with Pokémon and indie game content, and earning a degree in Journalism Studies, I launched my career at GAMINGbible where I worked as a journalist for over a year and a half. I then became TechRadar Gaming’s news writer, where I sourced stories and wrote about a wide range of fascinating topics. In my leisure time, you are sure to find me on my Nintendo Switch or PS5 immersed in epic-driven RPGs like Xenoblade Chronicles.